PATTERN RECOGNITION - Cooperative Aesthetics: Pattern, Method and Material

Curator: Casey Whittier

The eager human brain looks for meaning everywhere. Repetition conveys it. We see the urgency of meaning when a design is repeated over and over. 

Throughout history, artists have subverted expectations by literally or metaphorically weaving contrasting messages into opulent designs. Silenced voices have found poetic pathways by creating patterns laden with rebellious (or secret) messages.  New visual art is born from playing within rigid frameworks to explore the kind of nuance only found in objects that are intimate, intricate, and beautiful.

WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?

This exhibition explores the aesthetics inherent in pattern, repetition, and design-based processes that creatively employ systematic methodologies to achieve unexpected outcomes.

Exhibiting artists draw inspiration from the aesthetics of opulence, beauty, intricacy, or intimacy; explore repetition or decoration as a symbol of experimentation; and/or reflect on the complexity of simultaneous harmony and conflict within dynamic interplay.

About the Curator:

Casey Whittier received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is interested in the metaphorical and philosophical power of visual art and the ways in which the ceramic material creates direct connections between the geology of the earth, basic human needs, and complex metaphysical desires. Repetitive processes and systems of reliance are often used as metaphors for interconnectedness.

Whittier teaches ceramics and social practice at the Kansas City Art Institute and works from her home studio. Whittier works with The Land Institute through their Ecosphere Studies Program cohort and as a participant in their Silphium Civic Science Community, where research into new perennial and sustainable food and oil seed production is ongoing.

Whittier was named a 2020 Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine. She serves as President for Artaxis.org. and more of her work can be found at www.caseywhittier.com and www.palmpetals.com.

Opening Reception, Friday, July 5, 5:00-8:00pm

Exhibition dates: July 5 - 26, 2024

Gallery hours: Thurs – Fri 2-6pm, Sat – Sun 12-4 pm

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.